I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of mobile telephones. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel and improved mobile telephone that displays a status menu that indicates if the antenna is positioned properly.
II. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates the configuration and operation of a mobile telephone in the prior art. FIG. 1 is a block diagram that depicts a conventional mobile telephone 100. The mobile telephone 100 includes display 101, dialing buttons 102, menu scroll control 103, menu select control 104, control circuitry 105, and antenna 106. The control circuitry 105 includes menu logic 111 and status logic 112. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that FIG. 1 is simplified for clarity, and some conventional components are omitted. Those skilled in the art will also understand that FIG. 1 is a logical view of the control circuitry 105. The control circuitry 105 is implemented using processors, memory, software, control lines, and other conventional circuitry.
The menu logic 111 controls the display 101 to display menus 113. The menu logic 111 operates in response to control signals from dialing buttons 102, the menu scroll control 103, and the menu select control 104. The user navigates through the menus 113 to control the configuration and operation of the mobile telephone 100.
The status logic 112 controls the display 101 to display status information 114. The status information 114 indicates the operational status for various aspects of the mobile telephone 100, such as signal strength, battery power, voice mail, call-in-progress, available service, and type of service. Unfortunately, there is no status menu that effectively conveys the status of the antenna position and other aspects of the mobile telephone 100.
The present invention includes a novel and improved mobile telephone that displays a status menu to indicate if its antenna is properly positioned. Advantageously, the user can simply re-position the antenna until the antenna position status in the status menu changes to a positive indicator on the status menu.
A mobile telephone displays a status menu on a mobile telephone display. The status menu includes an antenna position status that indicates if an antenna for the mobile telephone is properly positioned. The mobile telephone continually updates the antenna position status in the status menu when the status menu is displayed.